Volleyball's Arielle Goodson Featured In West Michigan Newspaper

Sep 16, 2010

Senior Arielle Goodson
(Grand Rapids/Central) of the 2010 Ferris State University women's
volleyball team is the subject of a feature article in this
Thursday's (Sept. 16) edition of The Grand Rapids
Press.

The feature story on Goodson was written by The Grand Rapids
Press Sports writer Steve Ungrey and is titled - Late
to sport, Grand Rapids Central grad Arielle Goodson finds
volleyball success at Ferris State.

Arielle Goodson and her teammates at Grand Rapids Central played
basketball during the fall season of their freshman year. What to
do in the winter?

They tried volleyball on a whim, and from the first hit, Goodson
discovered she liked the sport.

In four years, Goodson transformed from an uncoordinated freshman
who was 6-foot and weighed less than 100 pounds on the Rams JV team
to a powerful 6-2 athletic senior middle hitter for Ferris State
University.

She and the Ferris team traveled to Grand Valley State for a Great
Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match Wednesday. And
while the Bulldogs lost 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, Goodson proved
how dominant she can be, totaling 18 kills.

"When Arielle came to our camp, she worked hard," Ferris State
coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm said. "She didn't touch
a volleyball until she was a (high school) freshman, but when we
saw her play as a junior, there was a lot of enthusiasm.

"You could tell she was definitely an athlete and a competitor. You
knew she'd learn quickly, and she did. She gained years of
experience in a short amount of time."

Dana Ruttle, a 5-7 senior libero from Reed City
and Goodson's best friend on the team, has noticed the
improvement.

"She still had to learn a lot when she joined the team," Ruttle
said, "but Arielle came in and quickly adjusted to compete as a
freshman."

Goodson adjusted so well that she was fifth overall on the team in
kills (146) her first season. By her sophomore season, Goodson was
second (262). A year ago, she recorded a team-best 376 kills and
120 blocks.

She also was first in block solos (44) and block assists (76) as
the Bulldogs finished 19-12.

Goodson finds it hard to believe her eight-year volleyball career
is ending.

"Just coming in as a freshman and looking back on my career, it's
surreal how far things have come," she said. "And I couldn't have
done it without my teammates. It's been a good four years."

"I was the JV coach when she got moved up as a freshman," Trevino
said. "She (was) still getting that coordination. She just came
back a different person (after college camps before her junior high
school season). She was a goofy girl kind of falling all over the
place, and here she was now a completely different player."

With her college career almost complete, Goodson plans to pursue a
career in social work after graduation.

"I think in her perfect world she'd help refugees transition to
life in the United States," Brandel-Wilhelm said. "She has a huge
heart and is one of the most caring individuals I've known."